Musical Reminiscences And Impressions

Excerpt from Musical Reminiscences and Impressions When I sat down to write my reminiscences, I did so with some misgivings as to whether I had materials of sufficient interest at my disposal. I had not, however, written many pages, before I began to live again in the past. Incidents which I had almost forgotten came before me as vividly as if they had occurred but yesterday. I saw, in imagination, the faces and figures of musicians, the lives and doings of whom the younger generations read as matters of musical history. For me, whilst penning my recollections, these musicians of the past were just as present as they were years ago when I was holding converse with them, or when I saw them at the festival or concert in which they were taking part. Some of these celebrities still live in their works, and are thus in a manner present amongst us; but the great singers and the world-famed executants I have written about are, for the most part, but a name to those who have not had the privilege, as I had, of hearing them. The voice of many a celebrated singer of bygone days still rings in my ears, although now for ever mute. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Musical Reminiscences and Impressions I had materials of sufficient interest at my disposal. I had not, however, written many pages, before I began to live again in the past. Incidents which i I had almost forgotten came before me as vividly as if they had occurred but yesterday. I saw, in imagination, the faces and figures of musicians, the lives and doings of whom the younger generations read as matters of musical history. For me, whilst penning my recollections, these musicians of the past were just as present as they were years ago when I was holding converse with them, or when I saw them at the festival or concert in which they were taking part. Some of these celebrities still live in their works, and are thus in a manner present amongst us; but the great singers and the world famed executants I have written about are, for the most part, but a name to those who have not had the privilege, as I had, of hearing them. The voice of many a celebrated singer of bygone days still rings in my ears, although now for ever mute. I. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A history of the English music festival is long overdue. Dr Pippa Drummond argues that these festivals represented the most significant cultural events in provincial England during the nineteenth century and emphasizes their particular importance in the promotion and commissioning of new music. Drawing on material from surviving accounts, committee records, programmes, contemporary pamphlets and reviews, Drummond shows how the festivals responded to and reflected the changing social and economic conditions of their day. Coverage includes a chronological overview documenting the history of individual festivals followed by a detailed exploration of such topics as performers and performance practice, logistics and finance, programmes and commissioning, together with information concerning the composition and provenance of festival choirs and orchestras. Also discussed are the effects of improved transport and new technologies on the festivals, sacred and secular conflicts, gender issues, the role of philanthropy, the nature of patronage and the changing social status of festival audiences. The book will also be of interest to social, economic and local historians.

Published in 1992. This is a revised, enlarged edition of a book which on its original appearance in 1984 was hailed as a landmark in the study of Victorian musical life. It presents the figure of Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1990) not only as the celebrated co-creator of light operas with W.S Gilbert, but as a composer of all kinds of music from symphony and concerto to ballads such as ‘The Lost Chord’ and hymns such as ‘Onward, Christian Soldiers’. A prominent public life, with a knighthood in 1883, is contrasted with an unconventional private life involving a liaison of almost thirty years with an American living in London, Mary Frances Ronalds. The author’s access to Sullivan’s diary held by Yale University and to letters and other documents at the Pierpont Morgan library in New York gives this book both a unique authority and a deep human understanding. A new chapter updates research to the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth, 1992, and incorporates music examples.